


Evil hidden by familiar masks

by TiffanyF



Category: CSI: NY
Genre: M/M, ooc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-02
Updated: 2013-02-02
Packaged: 2017-11-27 23:42:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/667814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiffanyF/pseuds/TiffanyF
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is dark folks. If you know my writing style this is not it. This is dark and evil. That said: Don sees something at the lab and takes it out of context. He acts on what he saw and must pay the price. evil Don. NON-CON. Very slight spoilers for Season 1 Outside Man. I don't own 'em and don't claim 'em.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Mac was impressed by the work Danny and Aiden had put into their case. He’d known when he hired the blond CSI that there was a quick mind in there, one he’d have to tame a little so Danny would follow the evidence to its factual conclusion but overall a man he wanted to have on his team. After he read the preliminary report he made his way towards the trace lab, pausing just inside the door; awed at what he saw. There was the carefully reassembled door to the café, a scale model of both floors of the crime scene and, on the other side of the table, Danny looking down at the victim photographs. He told Danny how impressed he was and listened as the younger man talked about his feelings from the case. And when he looked up his blue eyes were so sad that Mac moved across the room and put his hand on Danny’s right shoulder.

“Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight, Danny,” Mac asked.

“Yeah?” Danny grinned, albeit a little weakly. “Thanks, Mac.”  
********************

Danny was still dragging a little as he climbed out of the shower and made his way to the closet. He pulled out his favorite black jeans and a deep blue shirt that had been washed so many times it was starting to fade but it was soft and Danny wanted the comfort more than to impress his boss with his fashion sense. He had just turned to go back to the bathroom to fix his hair when he heard someone knocking on the door to his apartment. Thinking it might be Mac; Danny made his way down the hall and looked out. He blinked a couple of times but opened the door with a small smile. “Hey Flack, what’s up?”

“Can I talk to you a minute, Danny?” Don asked.

“Sure, if you don’t mind shouting,” Danny replied stepping back to let his best friend into the apartment. “I gotta get ready to leave in a couple of minutes.”

“Yeah, I saw,” Don said. “You and Mac looked pretty cozy in the layout room after shift today.”

“What are you talking about?” Danny asked. “He came in to tell me I made the promotion grid with this latest case; that’s all.”

Don stepped in, his larger form pinning Danny against the hall wall. “So him putting his hand on your shoulder and letting his thumb rub your neck, that’s all professional too?” he asked.

“Hey, Flack, you’re scaring me here,” Danny said. He pushed against his friend’s chest and tried to duck out. “I don’t know what you thought you saw at work but it ain’t what it looked like.”

“Yeah, looked to me like he was hitting on you,” Don said catching Danny’s right arm and pinning him back up against the wall.

“So what if he was?” Danny asked. “You know well as I do that Mac ain’t over Claire’s death yet so he ain’t gonna be hitting on no one. Least of all a screw-up like me. He’s worried the case is gonna fester and affect my work is all and wants to make sure I’m not gonna mess up at work tomorrow because of it.”

“You’re wrong, Messer,” Don said. “Mac wants you. I could see it in his eyes.”

Danny took a deep breath and wondered exactly when things had gotten so out of control. He brought up both his hands and pushed hard on Don’s chest. “You’re seeing things, Flack,” he said. “Now let me go.”

“I don’t think so,” Don said. He grabbed Danny’s wrists in his hands and moved them so each hand was pinned to the wall on either side of Danny’s head. He took a step back so Danny couldn’t use his knee to try and get free and leaned in, pressing his lips firmly against Danny’s. After a couple of minutes when Danny’s didn’t move, Don pulled back a little. “Come on, Messer; you got all dressed up for the Marine and I know I’m better looking than he is. Just give me a chance to show you what you’re missing before you sell your soul for a promotion.”

“Mac ain’t like that,” Danny said. “There’s no way in hell he’d make me sleep with him to get promoted. And I ain’t dressed up for Mac. It was a hard case and these are my favorite clothes.” He pulled against Flack’s grip. “Now I ain’t gonna tell you again, Flack. Let me go.”

There was a look in Don’s eyes that Danny had never seen before. The younger man pulled Danny’s hands up over his head and held them there with his right hand. Then he reached around behind him and pulled out his handcuffs and quickly had Danny secured and up against the wall, his face pressed against the white paint, glasses cutting into the side of his face. Don’s body was plastered against Danny’s back holding him in place as he tried to get undressed. With a grumble that could have passed for a growl Don grabbed Danny’s upper right arm and pulled him down the hall to the bedroom and tossed him onto the bed. Then, somehow, Danny was uncuffed, arranged and secured to the bed frame before he knew what was happening. His glasses had survived and his blue eyes widened when he saw Flack standing at the foot of his bed calmly undoing his tie and unbuttoning his white shirt and let it drop on top of his black leather jacket and matching tie. 

“Flack, Don, come on man, you don’t want to do this,” Danny said pulling his legs up and trying to curl into a ball, as much as he could with his hands secure above his head. “Let me go and we can talk about this. Whatever you want to talk about we can; we can even go out and get some dinner but you gotta let me go first.” He didn’t want to believe it when Don let his black slacks drop to the floor and pushed his boxers off. Danny tried to curl up more, rolled onto his side and attempted to get away from the foot of the bed where Don’s weight was making the mattress dip. 

Then there were hands on his ankles pulling his legs out and Danny was flat on his back with his (he thought) best friend straddling his hips. “I’m surprised you ain’t figured it out yet, Danny,” Flack said as he ran his hands along the soft cotton shirt. “I thought I’d given you enough hints over the past year but I guess you scientists ain’t as smart as I thought you were.” With a loud rip Danny’s shirt was torn open and Don’s hands started rubbing up and down his bare chest. “You’re hot, Messer. I noticed that the first day I met you. You got those blue eyes that it’s so easy to get lost in. I’ve been wanting to do this forever and knew I had a chance when I saw you with Mac tonight.”

“You’re seeing things,” Danny said twisting to try and get away from the touch. “Mac was just worried about me, that’s all. He never touched my neck or anything else. He just put a hand on my shoulder. There’s no way that Mac could even think something like this.”

“Quit fighting me, Danny,” Don growled. He reached over and opened the small drawer in Danny’s bedside table. With a smirk he pulled out the lube that rested against a hardback book and a small vibrator. “So what’s this? You getting yourself ready for the Marine? Think he’ll want you if you got experience or know what you’re doing? I got news for you, Messer; there’s no way Mac could ever be interested in you and you know why? Because of your family. He had me do a search to find out exactly what their connections are right after he hired you because he needed to know if there were cases you shouldn’t work or if he should just find some reason to fire you.”

“You’re lying,” Danny whispered.

Don shifted down so he was sitting on Danny’s legs and popped the fly on the soft black jeans. “Why would I lie to you about something like that?” he asked as he slid the zipper down and reached up, tucking his long fingers under the waistband of jeans and underwear both. He pulled them down and off, never fully removing his weight from Danny’s prone body. “I still got the reports at home, I kept copies of them in case anything did happen and I could back you up. Mac ain’t got your best interests in mind, Danny. He don’t care about you.” Don reached for the lube he’d dropped next to Danny’s left hip and flipped it open.

“No,” Danny said, the word barely even a whisper as he watched Don slide two fingers through the slick lube on his right palm. “Don’t do this, Don.”

“Don’t do what, Danny?” Don asked. “Don’t show you how much I want you? How much I care about you?” He used his knee to pry Danny’s legs apart and slid his hand down and pushed two fingers into Danny’s body.

Danny screamed at the invasion and tried to twist away. Don clicked his tongue a couple of times and climbed off the bed carefully. He picked up his tie and, after fighting with Danny for a couple of minutes, gagged the older man. “We don’t want the neighbors to wonder what’s going on in here, do we?” he asked as he shifted back into position. “Oh, that’s right; your neighbors don’t even know who you are. Do you think they’d call anyone if they heard screams coming from your apartment or would they just turn up the volume on their TV? It’s time to face it, Danny; I’m the only one who cares for you.” He slicked up his fingers again and pushed them back into Danny’s ass, ignoring the muffled scream. Don spent another minute or so preparing Danny and then used the remaining lube to slick his cock and shoved Danny’s legs apart. He pulled them up and slammed into Danny, moaning at the tight heat that surrounded his erection. “Damn, Danny, I thought you’d been working yourself with that toy,” he said as he started to move. “You’re so tight I’d think that this was your first time.”

Danny’s eyes closed as he tried to get his body to relax a little to ease the pain. He remembered the book said that staying tense would only increase the pain but it wasn’t working. He could feel tears running down his face into the tie that absorbed most of his cries, muffling them and finally gave into the blackness that had been threatening at the edge of his vision.


	2. Chapter 2

Mac glanced at his watch for what had to be the tenth time in the past ten minutes. Danny had said he was going to run home, shower and then come over and that had been more than two hours ago. Even given how far apart they lived and traffic on any given night Danny should have been there. With a small sigh Mac picked up the phone and called Danny’s cell, frown deepening when it went right to voice mail. He disconnected and, after checking his book, called Danny’s land line. The answering machine picked up. With a small sigh Mac attached his phone, gun and badge to his belt and grabbed his leather jacket. They might miss each other but it was a chance Mac was willing to take. He had a feeling that something was seriously wrong with his young friend.  
********************

He kept trying both of Danny’s phones as he drove to his CSIs apartment but got the same response every time; voice mail and answering machine. Mac could feel a small ball of terror growing in his chest as he parked and made his way into the apartment building. He pulled his gun when he saw that the door to Danny’s apartment was ajar. He pushed it open with his shoulder and almost gave a small sigh of relief when he saw that everything was okay in the living room. Mac quickly cleared both the living room and the kitchen before moving down the hall towards the bedroom. After checking to make sure there was no threat he put his gun back in the holster and looked around. There was also no sign of Danny and Mac knew the younger man wouldn’t go out without making sure his door was locked behind him.

Mac also noticed that the bed was messy and stepped closer. His eyes widened at the sight of what he knew to be blood and it looked like it was mixed with semen. He’d never deny that he’d had thoughts, dreams about Danny but had held back because he didn’t want to scare the younger man off. Mac had never once thought that Danny could possibly feel the same and he wondered if maybe he’d missed his chance.

A soft moan from the closet caught Mac’s attention and he spun, gun drawn again. He padded over and pulled the door open. Mac’s eyes widened at the sight in front of him and he quickly put his gun away and reached out towards Danny. The younger man was curled in a ball in the far corner of the closet. He was naked and Mac could see what looked like ligature marks on both wrists. But what concerned him the most was the blood he could see pooled under Danny’s right hip.

“Danny,” Mac said softly. “Dan, can you hear me?”

“Mac?” Danny asked. 

“Yeah,” Mac replied just as softly. “Can you come out of there and let me take a look at you?”

“Why? You just want an excuse to fire me,” Danny said.

Mac frowned both at the words and the cracked tone to Danny’s voice. It sounded like the younger man had been doing a lot of screaming and the pieces all fell together in Mac’s mind like lead puzzle pieces. “Oh god, Danny. Who attacked you? Who did this to you?”

Danny shuffled back and curled up even tighter. He whimpered and shifted and had to catch himself on what had to be a broken wrist if the way he jerked it off the floor with a cry was any indication. Mac knew he had to get his friend out of the closet and most likely to the hospital to be stitched up and checked. From the look of the bed Danny’s attacker hadn’t worn a condom and Mac’s heart clenched at the thought that he might lose Danny forever.

“Danny, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mac said. He moved into the closet a little and sat down. “I’m not going to fire you. I’d never do that. You mean too much to me and the lab.”

“Still checked up on me,” Danny muttered, his voice drowsing a little.

“No I didn’t, Danny,” Mac said. “I never checked up on anything. You did fantastic work on this last case and deserve to be on the promotion grid. You’re an excellent CSI and I’m proud to have you on my team.”

“Family,” Danny muttered. 

Mac’s brow furrowed at that last word but he also saw that Danny had passed out and moved forward to carefully uncurl his friend and just as carefully move him out of the closet and onto the floor. He grabbed a blanket and tucked it around Danny and then grabbed his cell phone.

“Stella, its Mac.”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Are you still at the lab?”

“Yeah, Aiden and I were just getting ready to leave for the night,” Stella said. “Why, what’s up?”

“Stel, it’s Danny; he’s been attacked and I need to get him to the hospital,” Mac replied. “Can the two of you process his bedroom? There’s trace here and I want to catch the bastard that did this to him.”

“Oh god,” Stella breathed. “We’ll be right there, Mac. You take care of Danny and we’ll handle the evidence.”

Mac sighed. “I’ll process him at the hospital, Stella, but I think whoever did this did some real damage because there’s a lot of blood.”

“We’ll get him, Mac,” Stella said firmly. “No one hurts one of our family and gets away with it.”  
********************

Mac sat in the waiting room at the hospital and stared at his hands. He couldn’t believe some of the things Danny had muttered as he drifted in and out of consciousness on the drive to the hospital. Mac had been thankful he’d been on call that night and had a department rig because it meant that he could get Danny to the hospital that much quicker and didn’t have to worry about anyone questioning why he stayed. But now that Danny was in the doctor’s care Mac’s mind cast back over some of the things Danny had said; he’d muttered that Mac didn’t trust him, had run background checks to keep him off cases and was going to fire him. It seemed so out of place and Mac wondered if Danny really believed what he was saying or if it was just ranting.

“Mac.” The Marine looked up and found Don Flack standing in front of him. “Hey, I’ve been calling your name for the past five minutes. What happened? Stella called me and said that someone attacked Danny?”

“Yeah, he was supposed to come over for dinner and never showed,” Mac said running his right hand through his hair. “I found him curled up in a ball in the back corner of his closet and had to wait until he passed out before I could get him in here. He lost a lot of blood, Don.”

“Do you have any idea who did it?” Don asked pulling out his notebook and pen.

“No clue,” Mac replied with a sigh. “You’re his best friend, Flack. Has he said anything to you about someone following him or threatening him?”

“Nope,” Don said shaking his head. “Stella said she and Aiden were going to process the apartment and you were going to take care of Danny so I thought I’d see what you wanted me to do.”

The older man sighed. “Right now I think all we can do is wait,” Mac said. “I didn’t get a good look at the bed but I thought I saw semen and there was no trace of it on Danny so I don’t think it belonged to him. There’s a good chance we have a DNA sample just waiting for us. Giles will have to separate it from Danny’s blood but if the bastard is in CODIS then we have him.”

Don sank down into the chair next to Mac. “I wish I knew who would do this to Danny,” he said. “If for no other reason that I’d hold him down for you.”

Mac snorted and went back to looking at his hands.  
********************

“Jesus,” Aiden exclaimed as she walked into her friend’s bedroom. “I’m gonna kill the son of a bitch that did this.”

“Easy,” Stella said putting a hand on Aiden’s shoulder. “Let’s shelve the emotions until we get the evidence processed, Danny’s healed and home and then we’ll go out and drink and punch something.”

Aiden grinned and closed her eyes for a minute to get her emotions under control. She could feel them bank and knew that the fire there would help her pick out every small piece of evidence that would pin the bastard who attacked her friend, her Danny, and make them pay. And she also knew that Stella was thinking the same thing. The pair made eye contact and set to work.  
********************

“Detective Taylor?”

“How’s Danny, doctor?” Mac asked standing up. “May I see him, please?”

The doctor smiled and Mac felt a weight lift from his chest; Danny would be fine physically. “We had to perform surgery to stitch him up,” the doctor said. “And we also gave him about a pint of blood to replace what he’d lost. We set his wrist in a cast and treated the cuts and bruises. He’s asleep now but yes, you can see him.”

“Thank you,” Mac said. He felt more than saw Don fall into step behind him as he followed the doctor down the hall to a corner room. Mac almost smiled when he saw it was a private room.

“He looks almost normal, don’t he?” Don asked quietly as he studied Danny’s face from the foot of the bed.

“Yeah, whoever did this didn’t touch his face,” Mac replied. He sat down in the chair next to the bed and studied Danny closely. “There were no signs of a break-in, Don. No indication that he struggled with his attacker so that means he knew him. He must have let him into the apartment for some reason.”

“And Danny’s not the most trusting person in the world so that’s a clue right there,” Don said. “I’ll go make a couple of calls and see if I can run anything down. I’ll be back.”

Mac nodded never taking his eyes off Danny’s face. Once the homicide detective was gone Mac stood and shut the door before walking back over to the bed and sitting down on the edge of it. “He’s gone, Danny,” Mac said softly. “I know you’re not asleep; I saw your eyes move when we were talking. Come on, open your eyes and tell me what happened.”

Danny’s blue eyes fluttered a couple of times and finally focused on his boss. “Where am I?” he asked.

Mac picked up the glass of water sitting on the bedside table and bent the straw so Danny could sip it. “You’re in the hospital, Danny,” he replied softly. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I solved the café case,” Danny said, frowning. “You came in to talk with me and said I’m on the promotion grid then invited me over for dinner. I said I wanted to shower and change first and went home. After that…”

“It’s okay,” Mac said. “You know that minds block out trauma. From what I saw when I was at your apartment you let someone into your home and they attacked you. There was plenty of evidence left behind and we’ll be able to figure it out even if you never remember.”

Danny snorted. “There’s a handful of people I let into my place,” he said. “And none of them would do this to me.” He held up his left hand and saw the bruises. “Mac, is it just me or do those look like they was made by handcuffs?”

“I haven’t taken a closer look,” Mac said. “I was waiting for you to wake up to process you. I need to see if there’s any trace left on you.”

“I know,” Danny sighed. He tensed when there was a knock on the door.

Mac put a hand over Danny’s. “Come in.”

Flack poked his head into the room. “Stella called,” he said. “She and Aiden are done at Danny’s place and are heading back to the lab.” Don noticed Danny’s open eyes and smiled. “Hey Messer, you gave us quite a scare.”

Mac noticed how Danny pushed back against the bed almost as if he was trying to escape from Flack. “Thanks, Don,” he said. “Why don’t you go on over and I’ll join you as soon as I can.”

“You got it.” Flack closed the door and Mac could hear the footsteps moving away.

He turned to Danny and looked into the scared blue eyes. “Danny,” Mac said as softly as he could, working to keep the anger out of his voice and eyes. “I need you to think as hard as you can. Did Don Flack do this to you?”

“What?” Danny asked.

“Dan,” Mac said. “You all but burrowed under your blankets when Flack looked in here. Why are you scared of him?”

“I’m….not,” Danny said but his tone was uncertain. “Mac?”

“I’m here, Danny,” Mac said. He rubbed Danny’s arm. “And I’m certainly not leaving you alone.”


	3. Chapter 3

Mac took his time slowly processing Danny and setting the sealed evidence envelopes and bags off to the side. Then he sat back down on the bed and picked up Danny’s good hand in his own, watching to make sure his younger friend didn’t panic. “Danny, I have a serious question to ask you,” Mac said. “On the way to the hospital and before you passed out at your apartment you said that I had done some checking up on your past to set you up to fire you. Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know,” Danny said sounding confused. “Mac, I know we don’t always get along when it comes to working cases but there’s no one I’d rather have watching my back than you. I know I got trust issues and my family ain’t the greatest but you know all about them anyway.”

“I know, Danny, I know,” Mac said. “I was just curious if you really believed what you were saying or if it was caused by your injuries.”

“What happened to me, Mac?” Danny asked. 

“Right now, Danny, I don’t know,” Mac replied. “But Stella and Aiden are at the lab processing the evidence from your room and one of them will come by and pick up the evidence I collected from you. The doctors took you into surgery immediately because you were bleeding badly and I suspect that they likely compromised what evidence was on your body.”

Danny shifted around a little and tried to smile. “Do you mind if I sleep for a bit?” he asked. “I think there’s still some drugs in my system from the surgery.”

“I’ll stay here and keep watch,” Mac said. “I swear to you that no one will ever be able to hurt you again, Danny.”

“Thanks Mac,” Danny said.

Mac watched the haunted blue eyes flutter closed and then Danny’s breathing slowly evened out. He sighed and shifted around to sit in the chair where he could reach Danny’s hand or arm at the slightest hint of a nightmare and tried to think.

Where was the evidence that Don Flack attacked Danny? Mac had seen Danny’s reaction to his best friend and it was far from normal. As far as Mac knew the two younger men were as close as brothers and told each other everything so there was no logical reason for Danny to be afraid of the younger man. Unless something had happened. Something between the end of their case and Danny’s attack which left a very small window and Mac had been with Danny for part of it.

With a sigh he pulled out his cell phone and called Stella. “Hey, it’s me,” he said. “What did you guys find?”

“I had to reign Aiden in, Mac, but I’m ready to kill whoever did this,” Stella replied. “How did Danny survive that?”

“He’s got a strong will to live, Stel,” Mac said. “But I don’t know about his mental state. Right now the last thing he remembers is leaving the lab to go home and shower before coming over to my place for supper. I don’t know if he’ll ever be able to remember the attack but he hasn’t objected or flinched away from my touch during the processing so I suspect that’s a good sign.”

“It is. Did you manage to find anything on him that could help link his rapist, god I hate using that word on general principle but when it’s a friend,” Stella said. “His attacker back to him?”

“The doctors took him into surgery immediately, Stella,” Mac sighed. “I strongly suspect the evidence has been compromised but its here and ready to be picked up. Just do me a favor and don’t send Flack for it.”

She picked up on something in his tone. “Mac, what’s going on?”

“Stel, can you think of any reason Danny could have to be afraid of Flack?”

“No, of course not, they’re best friends,” she said. “Why would you even think something like that?”

“Because Danny shrank away from Flack when he leaned in the door to pass on a message,” Mac said. 

“I dunno, Mac, its pretty flimsy,” Stella said.

“True, but see if you can get a hold of his cuffs,” Mac said. “Danny cut himself up pretty good on whatever was used to restrain him and I think it was metal handcuffs. Hell, he broke his wrist trying to escape from the bonds.”

“But why would he do something like that?” Stella asked.

“I can’t think of any reason,” Mac replied. He glanced up when Danny’s breathing changed. “Stella, I’ve got to go. Danny’s having a nightmare.”

“Take care of him, Mac,” Stella said. “We’ve got it covered here.”

Mac closed his phone and dropped it into the chair as he stood up and took Danny’s hand again. “Hey, its okay Danny,” he whispered running his other hand through Danny’s messy sandy blond hair. “No one can hurt you again. I promise I’ll never leave you alone.”

Danny’s breathing settled and he turned his face towards Mac and his body relaxed. Mac smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. “I was planning to tell you this tonight, Danny,” he said softly. “I was going to ask you out on, date probably isn’t the right word, but I was going to see if you wanted to have dinner with me in a more formal setting. I know the rules say that I can’t have any inappropriate contact with the investigators under my supervision but I don’t think I can or want to deny these feelings any longer. I swear to you that I’ll be at your side for the rest of your recovery as a friend and a boss. But I’d like to be there as more too.”

“Really?” Danny asked softly.

“You’re supposed to be asleep,” Mac scolded gently. “But yes, Danny. I didn’t think it would be possible for me to feel like this again but I do. I don’t want to pressure you into anything because of what happened tonight but I wanted you to know how I feel.”

“You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to hear those words,” Danny grinned. “Mac, I got no idea what happened to me. Yeah, I know I was attacked and…” he took a deep breath… “raped but I’ve been in love with you for a long time. When will I be ready to let you closer, I dunno. But I do remember that when I crawled into my closet I just wanted you to find me.”

“Danny, I never told you where I found you,” Mac said. “What do you remember?”

Danny frowned. “I remember my hands being freed from handcuffs,” he said. “And someone talking to me.” He blinked a few times. “I rolled off the bed and crawled into the closet because it was safe. The guy couldn’t get to me in there.”

“That’s good, Danny,” Mac said with a smile. “Maybe the mental block is going to go away and you’ll remember who it was who attacked you.”

“I don’t know that remembering something like this is a good thing,” Danny said with a yawn. 

“If you remember it you can deal with it,” Mac said running his fingers through Danny’s hair again. “But we’ll deal with whatever fallout we have to. You sleep, Danny. If I’m not here when you wake up then Stella and Aiden will be and that’ll mean we caught your attacker.”


	4. Chapter 4

Twenty four hours later Stella, Aiden and Sheldon Hawkes were all at the hospital to stand guard over Danny while Mac went and made the arrest on his attacker. None of them could believe it and parts of them didn’t want to but there was too much evidence to ignore it. It had been Don Flack’s semen mixed in with Danny’s blood on the bed and Aiden had found traces of Danny’s blood on Don’s handcuffs. They had also found Don’s handprints on the entry hall and the bedside table; on the lube and a book in the drawer. Some of those could be explained away but not all of them. And Mac was the only one the team knew could keep his temper in check when talking with the young homicide detective.

At least Mac hoped he’d be able to keep his temper.

Flack was sitting at the table in one of the interrogation rooms wearing a blue shirt, black tie, dress slacks and his ever-present black leather jacket; he was obviously dressed for work. Mac put the folder down on the table and leaned across to look into the clear blue eyes that were staring back at him. “Do you know why you’re here?” Mac asked quietly.

“Not a clue, Mac,” Don replied. “My Captain just told me to meet you here and you wanted to talk to me.”

“I want to do more than talk to you, Flack,” Mac said as he leaned back and opened the folder. “But as I want this to actually go to trial I’m going to save my anger for the punching bag in the gym downstairs.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Mac?” Don asked with a crooked grin that the Marine had seen so many times.

“I’m talking about what you did to Danny Messer,” Mac replied sternly. “You left enough evidence at the apartment that a blind CSI could have processed the scene and still come to the same conclusion. That’s why you came to the hospital last night isn’t it, Flack. The first thing you asked me is if I knew who had done it. You wanted to know if we’d worked it out.”

“Mac, I’m not sure what’s going on here but I think maybe I should talk with my department rep,” Don said standing up.

Mac slammed his hands on the table. “Sit,” he barked.

There was so much command in Mac’s tone that Flack felt his knees buckle and he sank back into the chair. Mac flipped open the folder and started setting out pictures of the crime scene and Danny’s body that he’d taken as quickly as he could before they left for the hospital. The whole time he was doing it Mac watched Flack’s eyes as they widened at each new picture. “Mac, why would I do something like this?” he asked. “Danny’s my best friend, you know that.”

“The innocent routine isn’t going to work on me,” Mac snapped. “We found your DNA mixed in with Danny’s blood on the bed. I don’t need you to tell me what happened. I know you raped him, Flack. Would I like to know why, of course I would. As you just said he’s your best friend. But I don’t need a confession. We have all the evidence we need to put you away.”

“Mac, I’m telling you, I didn’t do it,” Flack said. “You gotta believe me.”

Mac’s tight control finally broke and he slammed Flack up against the wall. “Do you want me to take you through the attack step by step, Flack?” he growled. “From the moment you walked in the door to Danny’s apartment to the moment you broke his trust forever? I don’t know what sort of game you’re playing but its over. You’re under arrest.”  
********************

“Did you hurt him?” Danny asked when Mac joined the rest of his team in the hospital room.

“I probably bruised him a little when he hit the wall,” Mac replied. “But nothing that will show after a day or so.”

“I still can’t believe it,” Aiden said for what had to be the hundredth time since they finished processing the evidence. 

Stella nodded. “I know but the evidence is there,” she said. “And it shows that there’s no way this was consensual.”

“Mac, what exactly did he say?” Hawkes asked from his corner of the room.

“He says he didn’t do it,” Mac sighed. “But the evidence is so clear that I don’t know how someone else could have done it.”

“I gotta remember, don’t I?” Danny asked. “That’s really the only way we’ll know one hundred percent what happened to me.”

“You’ll remember when you remember,” Mac said. He sat down next to the bed and took Danny’s hand. “Don’t push yourself, Danny. You need to rest and get better so we can take you home.”

“And spoil you rotten for a while,” Aiden said with a grin. 

Danny smiled. “Thanks, guys,” he said. “It’s weird, y’know.”

“What is, Danny?” Stella asked.

“I was talking with Mac about how we get up, go to work, just live our lives and then boom, something happens and everything changes,” Danny said. “And then this happens. I feel like I should be afraid. I should be hiding from everyone but I don’t. Maybe it’s because I don’t remember what happened.”

“Or maybe it’s because of how strong you are, Danny,” Mac said. “You have a strong will to survive and that’s coming into play. But now you need to sleep.”  
********************

Danny gasped and sat bolt upright, pain shooting through his lower body. Mac was there in a flash supporting him as he cried. “I remember,” Danny choked out between the sobs. “Don told me that he saw us in the lab and wanted a chance to be with me before you. He pinned me to the wall and cuffed me. He dragged me to the bedroom and tied me to the bed. Then he ripped off my shirt and found the lube.”

“He used lube?” Mac asked.

“Kinda,” Danny replied, still gasping from the force of his sobs. “He just shoved his fingers into me and I screamed. He used his tie to gag me and went back to the lube. Then he shoved his fingers in again, forced my legs open and pushed in. Mac, I never been with another guy before but I’d been reading about it ‘cause of how I feel about you. I tried to relax but I couldn’t and I blacked out.”

Mac rubbed Danny’s back. “You’ll be okay, Danny,” he said softly. “Not today, not tomorrow but you will be okay some day. You’ll be able to move past this because you’re so strong.”

“Do I gotta testify?” Danny asked in a small voice.

“No,” Mac replied. “No, Dan, you won’t have to testify at a trial. The attorney will plea-bargain the case because the evidence is so strong and Flack was a cop. They’re going to want to keep him out of the general population.”

“Thank you,” Danny whispered, his body finally relaxing.

“For what?”

“Being here.”  
********************

When Stella and the others showed up the next morning Mac excused himself and made the trip to the holding cell where Don Flack was being held until his attorney worked out his deal. There was no way they’d put him in with the quote-common criminals-unquote because he wouldn’t last an hour. 

“Mac, did you come to get me outta here?” Don asked when he saw the lead CSI on the other side of the bars. “Did you guys work out what actually happened?”

“Danny remembered,” Mac growled. “He said that you saw me in the lab with him and decided that a simple gesture meant that he was gay and you had a chance with him so you went to his place after work. You waited until the door was closed and then you pinned him to the wall, restrained him and raped him. He told me that you also said I had you check up on his family so I’d have a file ready in case I needed an excuse to fire him.”

“There’s no way I did all that,” Don said. 

“Your lawyer is going to have you checked for any mental illness because you’re denying all knowledge of the attack,” Mac said. “But I’m telling you this right now. I don’t care what happens to you. If by some miracle you work your way out of this; if you come near Danny again I will kill you. And I will kill you slowly so you can feel every ounce of torment you inflicted on the man who thought you were his best friend.”

“Mac,” Don said, shocked at the tone in the other man’s voice.

“I hope you rot in hell,” Mac growled as he turned on his heel and walked out.


	5. Chapter 5

Danny looked up when he heard the key in the double lock Mac had installed on his apartment door the day before bringing Danny home from the hospital. “Hey, how was work?” he asked.

“They got the test results back on Flack,” Mac said with a sigh as he relocked the door. “It turns out he really doesn’t remember what he did to you.”

“How’s that possible?” Danny asked. He curled up tighter on the sofa and pulled the blanket up to his chin. “He seemed totally normal when he came in. It wasn’t until he pinned me that I thought anything was wrong.”

“Hawkes can explain it better but basically when he saw us talking in the lab something flipped in his mind and he blacked out,” Mac said. He settled into his favorite chair with a small groan. “Flack was still able to function and appear normal to everyone around him but he doesn’t remember anything that happened. But it doesn’t mean he’s not going to be punished for what he did; it just means that he’ll probably serve his time in a state hospital rather than prison.”

“It’ll be safer for him,” Danny sighed. “As much as I want to hate him, Mac, he was my best friend for a long time. I trusted him.”

“I know you did, Danny,” Mac said. “But he won’t come near you again.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

“Two reasons; one, I told him I’d kill him slowly if he did and two, you’ll be living here so it’ll be harder to find you,” Mac said. 

Danny’s eyes widened and he grinned. “Really?”

“Really,” Mac said. “I know you’re not comfortable on your own any more and I like having you here. We’ll go at your pace for whatever happens between us but I want you to move in.”

“Will you go with me to pack up my stuff?” Danny asked.

“I made you a promise in the hospital that I intend to keep,” Mac said. “You’ll never be alone again, Danny.”

“Thanks Mac.”


End file.
